Perhaps today was the Shrek Seven Devils' lucky day. In every one-on-one and two-on-two soul duel, they had actually emerged victorious. Among them, the duo of Oscar and Dai Mubai had named themselves the Twin-Winged White Tiger, signifying that with Little Ao's support, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger had gained wings to match his ferocity. They had faced a pair of Soul Masters specializing in both offense and defense. With the help of Oscar's mushroom sausage, Dai Mubai's weakness in speed was comprehensively compensated for. Adding flight capability into the mix, he dispatched one of their opponents off the arena platform before they could even react. The rest of the fight was naturally without suspense.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's duo had named themselves the Seven Treasure Spirit Cat. When their opponents caught sight of Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, their fighting spirit had already waned considerably. Normally, when facing a team with a support-type Soul Master, you'd prioritize taking out the support first. However, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was one of the seven great Soul Master clans—not something ordinary Soul Masters would dare offend. As a result, the two opposing Soul Masters, both at the twenty-level range, had to face Zhu Zhuqing with her speed and strength suddenly boosted by thirty percent. Under the Pagoda's assistance, Zhu Zhuqing's strength had already surpassed the thirty-level mark—she only lacked a third Soul Skill. Relying on her lightning-fast speed, she subdued their opponents without expending much effort.
Five one-on-one matches and three two-on-two bouts ended in a clean sweep, giving the Shrek Seven Devils' soul fighting journey a perfect opening. Of course, their soul fighting for the day wasn't over yet—there was still one final match awaiting them.
Oscar wolfed down two recovery sausages himself and handed one to each of the others, his face beaming with pride. Having earned a point in his very first battle, how could he not be excited? Especially since, apart from expending some Soul Power to provide Dai Mubai with a mushroom sausage, he hadn't really done anything at all. He hadn't even gotten the chance to execute his original plan of dodging attacks on the arena stage.
The Great Master, Flandre, and Zhao Wuji looked at the seven disciples standing before them and couldn't help but nod in quiet approval. The eldest of these youths was only fifteen—what more could they ask for when such outstanding results had been achieved in the soul fighting arena?
The Great Master spoke: "It's time for the team battle. Since you registered late, you'll likely be scheduled near the end. Remember, you'll be facing a team above the thirty-level range. Team battles are different from one-on-one and two-on-two fights—coordination between teammates is far more important than individual strength. Since the other side is a proper team, they won't lack any type of Soul Master. What kind of combination they have will depend on their understanding of team composition."
Dai Mubai said: "Great Master, don't you trust our coordination? Xiao San, you're a Control Type Soul Master. When the fight starts, you take charge of directing us. We'll all follow your lead."
Tang San didn't decline. As the soul of the team, this was his duty.
"Alright. Mubai, Xiao Wu, Zhu Qing—the three of you will be the main attackers. Mubai, you take center. Xiao Wu and Zhu Qing, flank on either side. I'll hold the middle, doing my best to control our opponents and support your attacks. Fatty, you stay in the rear. Use your Phoenix Fire Line for long-range attacks and protect Little Ao and Rongrong. Little Ao, start preparing now—one of each of your three sausage types for every person. No problem?"
Oscar replied: "No problem. My Soul Power is still abundant."
Tang San turned to Ning Rongrong last. "Remember to protect yourself. You and Little Ao shouldn't stray far from Fatty's side. If they launch an attack on you, don't panic—I'll help Fatty protect you both."
Ning Rongrong giggled. "Panic? I don't think that emotion has ever come up for me."
Dai Mubai said: "Good, then let's move."
The team battle arena was noticeably larger than the one-on-one and two-on-two stages. The competitors' waiting room was especially bustling—at least thirty-odd Soul Masters were gathered there.
After all, in the entirety of the Balak Kingdom, there were only two soul fighting arenas on the scale of the Sotuo Grand Arena. One was right here; the other was the Balak Grand Arena in the kingdom's capital. Virtually every Soul Master in the Balak Kingdom willing to participate in soul fighting competitions had gathered in these two cities—otherwise, there wouldn't be nearly this many Soul Masters under one roof.
According to Spirit Hall's statistics, the total number of Soul Masters across the entire continent did not exceed one hundred thousand, with only about two thousand permanently residing in the Balak Kingdom. That gave some indication of how many Soul Masters a grand arena could draw.
Even Soul Masters of Flandre and Zhao Wuji's caliber had entered soul fighting tournaments. With their high ranks and formidable strength, the rewards they could reap from the grand arena were considerable. If it weren't for Zhao Wuji having too many enemies and Flandre being too proud of himself, with the academy's finances in such dire straits, they might very well have entered the tournaments as well.
Sure enough, just as the Great Master had said, Tang San's group of seven was scheduled to appear second-to-last. They didn't go outside to watch the matches. Four of the seven had already fought two soul duels each, and their Soul Power had been somewhat depleted. Although Oscar's recovery sausages helped, Soul Power couldn't fully regenerate in such a short time. Before their turn came, the seven settled into a corner and quietly focused on condensing their Soul Power, preparing for the upcoming battle.
If just one person wore a mask, it might not attract much attention. But when seven people wearing identical masks walked into the team battle waiting room simultaneously, they couldn't help but draw notice. Most of the Soul Masters present showed expressions of wariness upon spotting Tang San's group.
Though they couldn't see the Shrek Seven Devils' faces, their builds and clothing revealed a group of three females and four males. Among Soul Master teams, female Soul Masters made up only a fifth of the male count, so this kind of composition was already somewhat unusual.
Just as Tang San's seven were quietly cultivating and waiting for their turn, a man well over two meters tall and extraordinarily burly suddenly strode in their direction. He appeared to be in his thirties, bare-chested, displaying夸张地 dark, bulging muscles. No question about it—he was a strength-type Soul Master.
Wait, I accidentally left a Chinese character. Let me fix that.
Let me redo the final version cleanly:
"Hey, sweetheart, nice figure. Why hide your face? Let big brother take a look." He was addressing Zhu Zhuqing, who had the most striking figure among the Shrek Seven Devils' three girls. Although Zhu Zhuqing was the youngest, her physical development made both Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu secretly jealous. With a mask covering her face, no one could tell she was only twelve years old.
"Get lost—" Zhu Zhuqing's response was perfectly in character: a single, cold word.
"Playing hard to get, are we? Little girl, do you even know who I am? You dare talk to me like that?" As he spoke, his massive hand was already rising.
"She told you to get lost. Didn't you hear?" Dai Mubai shot to his feet and stepped in front of Zhu Zhuqing. Though his frame was several sizes smaller than the man's, the aura he unleashed in that instant made his opponent flinch involuntarily.
"Looking to die." The big man's fierce eyes widened as his right hand chopped downward toward Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai snorted coldly, driving his right fist upward to meet the descending palm.
With a muffled boom, the big man's body swayed slightly, but Dai Mubai was pushed back two steps. All four of his Evil Eyes flashed cold as a fierce killing intent erupted from the Shrek Seven Devils' leader, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger.
Everyone on the Shrek Seven Devils' side could tell Dai Mubai had come off worse. As a strength-attack Soul Master, Dai Mubai hadn't deployed his Martial Soul, but Soul Power could still augment his strikes. Being forced back two steps clearly meant his opponent's Soul Power exceeded his own. At this point, Dai Mubai was already a level thirty-seven Soul Venerable, on the verge of reaching level thirty-eight. To be pushed back under these circumstances meant the towering man before him was likely a level thirty-eight or even level thirty-nine Soul Venerable. Within the thirty-level tier, his Soul Power would be at the absolute peak.
"Stop." Just as both sides were at daggers drawn, about to erupt into a full-blown brawl, a gender-neutral voice suddenly cut in. A middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties strode forward. Without any visible exertion, he seemed to take just two steps and was suddenly positioned between Dai Mubai and the burly giant.
"Don't you know private fights are prohibited in the soul duel staging area? This is the grand arena's rule. If you want to fight, do it on the arena stage."
Seeing this middle-aged man, the giant who had been bristling with fury moments ago immediately changed his expression. "Manager Ao, my fault. I couldn't contain myself for a moment."
The middle-aged man called Manager Ao turned his gaze to the Shrek Seven Devils. "You must be that newly registered team, the Shrek Seven Devils. Enough—there's no need to scrap here. As it happens, you'll be facing each other on the arena stage today. Whatever grudges you have, settle them up there. Kuang Xi, if I see you causing trouble on my turf again, don't blame me for getting rough. This is my last warning—remember it."
"Yes, yes. Won't happen again, won't happen again." Kuang Xi's powerful frame and his sheepish grin were strikingly incongruous. But the moment his gaze shifted back to Dai Mubai, it turned sharp and menacing. He pointed a finger at Dai Mubai. "Kid, we'll see each other soon enough. If I don't beat you so bad your own mother won't recognize you, my name isn't Kuang Xi."
(End of Chapter)
Hmm, I see I had a mistake with the Chinese character 夸张地. Let me write the complete clean version now.